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THE 
TRENTON DECREE OF 1782 



AND THE PENNAMITE WAR 



The Trenton Decree of 1782 



AND THE PENNAMITE WAR 



FREDERICK W. GNICHTEL 



An address delivered before 

The Trenton Historical Society 

November i8, 1920 



1920 

The Trenton Historical Society 

Trenton, New Jersey 






- Gift 

i-»8 & ts&r 






Prbss of 
State Gazbtte PyBUSHiNC Co. 



THE TRENTON DECREE OF 1782 

AND THE PENNAMITE WAR 

111 1782 Trenton was selected as the meeting place of a 
Court of Commissionei's appointed by the Contiiiental Con- 
gress, to hear and deti'rmine a controversy which involved a 
claim on the part of Connecticnt to the ownership and jn- 
risdiction of a considerable portion of northera Pennsyl- 
vania. The court consisted of seven members, and convened 
in Trenton on ISTovember 12, 1782. It had all powers inci- 
dent to a court, and was established by Congress under the 
authority of Section 9 of the Articles of Confederation. 

Although the members of the court were all eminent jur- 
ists and men of high standing in the colonies ; and although 
the court was attended by distinguished counsel from Connec- 
ticut and Pennsylvania, and sat for forty-five judicial days 
in the hearing of an interesting and important controversy 
arising between two sovereign states, the record of the trial 
is scant and unsatisfactory. With the assistance of Dr. God- 
frey, I found a short record of the proceedings of the Court 
in the Pennsylvania Archives, but the place of meeting in 
Trenton, and many important details, are left to conjecture. 

The decision in the case was rendered on December 30, 
1782, and is known in history as ''The Trenton Decree." It 
terminated a dispute that began in 1757, which caused in- 
tense ill feeling between the two colonies. In local history it 
is known as the Pennamite War. 

In order to explain the dispute between these states, and 
how Jerseymen became involved, it is necessary to go back 
more than a century to the days when the lands on the eastern 
part of this continent were parcelled out by the P>;ritish 
Crown. Generous grants were made, always vague in de- 
scription and usually overlapping, due to ignorance of tlie 
geography of America. 

This resulted in confusion, and in a number of instances 
to bitter strife and bloodshed. 



•1 THE TRENTON DECREE OF 1782. 

Connec'ticnt claimed ownership to the portion of Pennsyl- 
vania located north of the 41st degree of latitnde nnder a 
grant from Charles IT, in 1662, which was confirmatory of 
a previons grant from James I. It was generally supposed 
in those days that the ISTorth American Continent was no 
greater in width than the Central American conntries, and 
some of the grants ran from sea to sea. The Oonneoticut 
charter inclnded the land now embraced within the boun- 
daries of Connecticut, extending westward the same width 
to the ocean. That is to say, "from the said ISTarragansett 
Bay on the east to the South Sea on the^ west" — the South Sea 
being the name then applied to the Pacific Ocean. The 
charter excepted any land then actually inhabited by any 
other Christian Prince or State. Basing their contention on 
these words, it was claimed that the lands in Pennsylvania, 
bounded on the south by the 41st degree of latitude — (about 
the vicinity of Stroudsburg) and extending from the Dela- 
ware to the western boundai7 of the state, were under the 
jurisdiction of Connecticut. 

The charter granted to William Penn in 1681 by Charles 
II included a tract of land which had for its northeni 
boundary -the 42d degree of latitude, thus overlapping by 
one degree the gTant made 19 years before to Connecticut. 

For nearly a century Connecticut neglected to make any 
active claim to the land, and it was only after all the land 
within her undisputed boundary had l^een pre-empted that 
she turned her eyes to the westward. 

Wliile Connecticut claimed priority, the proprietors of 
Pennsylvania maintained tliat when their charter was 
granted the eastern boundary of New York State had been 
decided by the Attorney-General of England to be the west- 
ern boundary of Connecticut, and this decision restored the 
lands westward to the Crown, and laid them open to a new 
grant. 

Connecticut also claimed priority by reason of a deed from 
the Indians in 1754, and by actual settlement in 1762 ; while 
Pennsylvania did not purchase from the Indians until 1768, 
and did not effect any settlements until a year later. 

In 1753 two land companies Avere formed in Connecticut, 



THE TKENTON DECItEE OF 1782. 5 

one callod the Coiineeticnt-vSiisqiielianiia Oompaiiy, and tbc 
other known as the Dehiware C\)nipany. The Connecticut- 
Susquehanna Company inchided some 800 of the leading men 
of the colony, snbsequently increased to 1,200, and the move- 
ment to settle tlu^' land was regarded as an nnofficial bnit 
popnlar movenu^nt on the part of the colony itself. They 
pnrchased the Indian title for 2,000 ponnds, and the deed 
inclnded the land north of the 41st degTee of latitnde, and 
extended a considerable distance west of the Susquehanna. 
Pennsylvania claimed that this deed was obtained by fraud ; 
that undue influence was resorted to, and that rum played an 
important part in inducing the Indians to execute the in- 
strument. The Delaware Company also purchased land from 
the Indians, and it was under the auspices of the latter com- 
pany that the first settlement was made, in 1757, at Cushu- 
tunk on the Delaware. The Connecticut agents went so far 
as to interest some Pennsylvania people in the scheme, but 
Pennsylvania never admitted the claim of her sister colony, 
and made grants of the land involved to various persons. 
This led to conflicts between the settlers. At first this was 
confined to lando^\^ners whose titles conflicted ; clashes, how- 
ever, frequently occurred, and in some cases settlements were 
completely destroyed. The settlers from Connecticut were 
called ''Yankees," and those who claimed under the grants of 
Pennsylvania were called "Pennamites," and the conflict has 
become known in history as the "Pennamite War." 

Pennsylvania asserted her jurisdiction, and in 1762 the 
Sheriff of Northampton County, and three Justices of the 
Peace, were sent to the Yankees. They denounced them as 
trespassers and warned them to leave the colony under pen- 
alty of arrest. The sturdy jiioneers from Connecticut claimed 
to hold their land by a superior title ; they ignored the warn- 
ing, and the Sheriff returned and reported that the Yankees 
refused to leave and claimed title under the Connecticut 
Grant and a deed from the Indians. 

Governor Hamilton issued a. proclamation warning the 
trespassers off, and enjoined all state officials to prosecute 
and bring to justice the intruders. He also communicated 
with the Governor of Connecticut. The Yankees however. 



6 THE TRENTON DECREE OF 1782. 

were firm and refused to vacate. The Indians in the vicinity, 
claiming that they had never legally transferred the land, 
became threatening, and in 1763 they declared war. They 
fell npon the settlers and killed about 20 men ; those who es- 
caped, men, Avomen and children, fled to the mountains, 
where many died, and some^ after enduring great hardships, 
reached the older settlements and finally returned to Con- 
necticut. 

In 1769 another attempt at settlement was made by the 
Susquehanna Company. A large company of Connecticut 
l>eople settled at Wyoming with Captain Zebulon Butler, a 
hero of the French and Indian War, at their head. Settle- 
ments were also established at Smithfield and other places. 
Clashes again occurred with the colonists who claimed title 
under Pennsylvania, and the result was frequent skirmishes. 
Arrests were made by the Pennsylvania authorities, but the 
parties were soon released or rescued. The Sherifi^ reported 
to the Government that the Yankees were too strong for him, 
and for a short time the settlers were unmolested. Later a 
general warfare was inaugurated between the contending fac- 
tions in which many were killed. This continued for about 
three years, during which time Connecticut men held on, as- 
sisted at times by citizens of Pennsylvania, who sympathized 
with them, claiming they Avere victims of land speculators, 
and that whatever Pennsylvania did it should recognize their 
title as legitimate. 

In 1773 commissioners were appointed by Connecticut to 
treat with the commissioners of Pennsylvania, but nothing 
was accomplished, and the following year Connecticut offi- 
cially extended her authority over the disputed territory. 

The County of Westmoreland was then formed and an- 
nexed to the County of Litchfield, Connecticut. This bold 
action stimulated immigration, and settlers from Connecticut 
flocked into the territory; towns were established and forts 
erected. Steps were also taken for the establishment of local 
government; and the officials appointed, continued to act 
until the land was finally taken over by Pennsylvania. From 
this time until the close of the Revolution there was a lull in 
the strife between the two factions l>ecause the more im- 



THE TKENTON DECREE OF 1782. 7 

portant disputo with the mother country engrossed the atten- 
tion of the people. 

It was dnring the period of the war, in July, 1778, that 
the fanions Wyoming massacre occurred, and the settlements 
in that valley were completely destroyed by the hostile In- 
dians and vicious Tories. The able-bodied men were in the 
American Army, under Washington, and the valley was de- 
fended by the old men and the boys who faced the invading 
forces. History gives a splendid account of the valor of that 
little band, outnumbered four to one, and of their heroic 
struggle. They were surrounded, most of them killed, and 
after the defeat the Indians destroyed their homes and 
butchered their women and children. Desolation reigned 
throughout the valley; but, notwithstanding this terrible 
visitation, renewed attempts at settlement were made by these 
hardy pioneers in the following fall and winter. During the 
ensuing spring the tide of immigration was renewed, when 
new homes were established, and the valley of Wyoming 
again became a thriving community. With the close of hos- 
tilities the strife between the settlers was renewed. They 
were armed, and both sides were ready to defend their homes, 
and skirmishes frequently occurred. Pennsylvania made no 
attempt during the war to repel the new invasion. As the 
Revolutionary War drew to a close, she again prepared to 
resist the aggressions of the Yankees ; this time, instead of 
resorting tp force, Pennsylvania took advantage of the Ar- 
ticles of Confederation, the ninth section of which provided 
that the ''United States in Congress assembled shall be the 
last resort of appeal in disputes and differences now subsist- 
ing or that may hereafter arise, between two or more states, 
concerning boundaries, jurisdiction or any other cause what- 
ever," &c. 

On November 3, 1781, a petition w^as presented by the 
State of Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress asking 
that the case be adjudicated by that body. Congress took 
cognizance of the application and notice was sent to Connec- 
ticut. There was some delay in the procedure, but on August 
12, 1782, the Agents for Pennsylvania and Connecticut con- 
ferred together and agreed upon William Wliipple, of New 



8 THE TBENTON DECREE OF 1782, 

Hampshire; K'atlianiel Greene, of Rhode Island; David 
Brearly, of 'New Jersey; William Churchill Houston, of 
New Jersey; Cyrus Griffin and Josej^h Jones, of Virginia; 
and John Eutledge, of South Carolina, as Commissioners 
to try the matter in controversy. Later it was learned that 
General Greene and John Eutledge could not attend, when 
Thomas Nelson, of Virginia, and Welcome Arnold, of Rhode 
Island, were substituted. 

Congress approved of the appointments and constituted 
them a ''Court of Commissioners." In response to the recpiest 
of the agents to fix the compensation of the commissioners, the 
Committee of Congress declined to do so, but stated that the 
usual compensation was one Guinea j)er day and expenses. 
Eater the agents entered into an agreement under which they 
fixed the commissioners' compensation at $10 per day and 
expenses, and agreed that the commissioners should meet at 
Trenton, New Jersey, on Tuesday, November 12, 1782. 

The members of the Court were selected from the leading 
men of tlie country; the members from New Jersey were 
both members of the New Jersey Bar, and were prominent 
in the public life of the colony. David Brearly was an Allen- 
town man, born in 1745, and was admitted to the bar in 
1767 ; in the Revolutionary War he became prominent as a 
sturdy patriot. Because of his outspoken opposition to 
British aggression he was arrested for high treason ; this 
aroused -a deep feeling in the community and a band of 
sympathizers mobbed the jail and liberated him ; later he was 
called from his command, as Lieutenant Colonel, in Max- 
well's Brigade of the New Jersey line, to become Chief Jus- 
tice at the age of 84, and held that position when appointed 
as a member of the commission. He was a prominent Mason, 
and Grand Master of the State. In 1789 he resigned the 
Chief Justiceship to accept the appointment of Judge of the 
District Court of the United States, which position he held 
until his death, which occurred at the age of 45. 

William Churchill Houston, the other member from New 
Jersey, was born in South Carolina in 1746, and came north 
to attend the College of New Jersey. After his gi*aduation 
he become Professor of Natural Philosophy in that institu- 



THE TRENTON DECREE OF 1782. 9 

tion, wliicli position he held for many years. Upon the 
breaking out of the Revolntion he was appointed Captain of 
the Militia of New Jersey, and served until March 25, 1777, 
when he was ajipointed Deputy Secretary to the Continental 
Congress. In 177S he became a member of the Assembly of 
New Jersey, and in 17^ a member of the Continental Con- 
gress. In 1781 Congress elected him Comptroller of the 
Treasury. He was admitted to the Bar of New Jersey in 
1781, and the same year was appointed Clerk of the Supreme 
Court of New Jersey, which office he held until his death. 
He also held the office of Receiver of Continental Taxes. 
After resigning his professorship in the College of New 
Jersey he became one of the founders and a stockholder of 
the Trenton Academy. Mr. Houston Avas also appointed a 
member of the convention which drafted the Constitution of 
the United States, and, according to the record, took a promi- 
nent part in forming it, although his name is not appended 
to the instnmient. He died at the age of 42. 

The Court of Commissioners met at Trenton on November 
12, 1782, and continued in session until December 30, 1782.- 
Eliphalet Dyer, Jesse Root and William S. Johnson appeared 
as counsel for Connecticut, while James Wilson, Joseph 
Reed, Jonathan D. Sergeant and William Bradford repre- 
sented the State of Pennsylvania. The Court declined to 
order notice to be given to the settlers who claimed the land, 
holding that the right of soil did not come before them ; that 
the question they were empowered to decide was solely that 
of jurisdiction. With this preliminary ruling, the parties 
proceeded with their several allegations and pleas, and, after 
■sessions covering 41 consecutive days, the Court, on Monday, 
December 30, 1782, gave its decision in these words: 

"We are unanimously of opinion that the State of Connec- 
ticut has no right to the lands in controversy. We are also 
unanimously of opinion that the jurisdiction and pre-emption 
of all the territory lying within the charter boundary of 
Pennsylvania, and now claimed by the State of Connecticut, 
do of right belong to the State of Pennsylvania." 

When the decree was promulgated, Connecticut withdrew 
her officials and the County of Westmoreland ceased to exist. 



10 THE TEENTON DECREE OF 1782. 

The Yankee settlers accepted the result as determining 
only the question of jurisdiction ; that the decision did not in 
any way affect the title or right to the soil. They acquiesced 
in the verdict, their understanding heing that they were not 
to be disturbed in their holdings, but were amenable to the 
Laws of Pennsylvania ; they cared not under what jurisdic- 
tion they lived so long as they were protected in their rights. 

Afterwards it developed that Pennsylvania regarded the 
Trenton Decree not only as a settlement of the jurisdiction 
but also of the titles to the land. This was not made public, 
and when the Yankees learned that the troops that were sent 
to Wyoming to guard them against the Indians, were also 
present to protect the settlers under Pennsylvania titles as 
against those derived from Connecticut, the conflict was 
again reopened. This in local history is known as the "Third 
Pennamite War." No acts of violence were committed until 
May, 1784, when the troops were ordered to disarm the 
Yankees, who resisted the mandates of the alleged "Mock 
Tribunals of the Pennsylvania Magistrates." It was in 
reality the beginning of the end. The "Mock Tribunals" 
were resorted to and decided against the Yankees and troops 
were ordered to evict them. One hundred and fifty families 
were turned out of their homes, reduced to destitution and 
compelled to leave the Wyoming Valley. They were driven 
from their homes and compelled to find their way through 
the wilderness of the Lackawaxen to the Delaware Valley, 
a distance of about eighty miles, and attended with great 
suffering. Miner, in the History of the Wyoming Valley, 
described the sufferings of the fugitives — men, women and 
children — as they were urged forward by the armed troops 
who followed them across the mountains to 'the Delaware. 

The methods of the military powers produced reaction in 
Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania ; and the action 
of the government was denounced as cruel and uncalled for. 
In view of later developments, the action of the Pennsylvania 
authorities has been severely criticised. The Trenton Decree 
had been published as the only finding of the commissioners. 
In a technical sense this is true, but accompanying their de- 
cision was a letter from the commissioners as indivirhial citi- 



THE TKENTON DECREE OF 1782. H 

zens to the Governor and the Euxecntive Council of Pennsyl- 
vania, in which they expressed their views as to the title of 
the settlers. For some unexplained reason this paper re- 
mained in the office of the Secretary of State, in Harrisburg, 
unnoticed and unknown to the public. Had it been published 
at the time, the conduct of Pennsylvania toward the hardy 
pioneers who settled northern Pennsylvania, in view of the 
recommendations of the commissioners, would no doubt have 
been diiferent. Public opinion would not have: permitted the 
harsh methods which the officials of Pennsylvania adopted. 
]!^or can the conduct of Connecticut receive the approval of 
history. They had sold this land to the settlers, and, upon 
the promulgation of the Decree, retired from the controversy, 
leaving the Yankees to fight for the possession of their homes. 
In some accounts of the affair it is hinted that Connecticut 
was to receive in compensation for her loss a portion, of the 
territory of Ohio, which has ever since been known as the 
westem reserve. Be that as.it may, it seems that these 
settlers had rights which should have been safeguarded either 
by Pennsylvania or Connecticut, and if they had taken steps 
in that direction, all the suffering and distress which fell to 
their lot would have been avoided. The letter in question 
was written on December 31, 1782, and the commissioners, 
referring to the settlers, state: "Their individual claims 
could in no instance come before us, not being in the line of 
our appointment," but they suggest that these people be per- 
mitted to remain undisturbed in possession "until proper 
steps can be taken to decide the: controversy respecting the 
private right of soil, in the mode prescribed by the confedera- 
tion.'' The letter evinced a deep sense of justice and hu- 
manity, and a thorough understanding of the settlers' claim 
to the soil. They were under the jurisdiction of Pennsylva- 
nia, and they at least had a right to a trial by jury. 

The letter of the commissioners was first brought to light 
in the trial of the case of Van Horn v. Dorrance (2 Dal. 
304), in the U. S. Court, in 1795. This was an ejectment 
suit brought against Dorrance, who held under a Connecticut 
title. The Court charged against the defendant, and held 
that the Connecticut title had no validity ; the defendant also 



12 THE TRENTON DECREE OF 1782. 

claimed under some act of the legislature of Pennsylvania, 
which sought to confirm their titles, but this act was held to 
be unconstitutional. 

Later on many of the fugitives again returned and en- 
deavored to regain their fonuer homes. They reached Wy- 
oming in some force; fighting again occuiTed between the 
opposing claims and hostilities continued for nearly two 
years. By this time public opinion had become thoroughly 
aroused. It was recognized that these settlers were desirable 
citizens ; that they had been the innocent victims of land 
schemers, and steps ought to be taken to permit them to re- 
main and make some satisfactory adjustment. The sympathy 
of the people of Pennsylvania turned strongly in their favor. 
A plan was suggested for the carving out of a new state, con- 
sisting of what was then known as Westmoreland County, 
and, although it found some favor, Pennsylvania would not 
consent. In 1787 a compromise was effected, by granting to 
the settlers 17 townships in which settlements had been made 
before the Trenton Decree, they to relinquish their claims to 
the other lands ; this and the passage of a number of acts by 
the Pennsylvania legislature, and the appointment of a com- 
mission, finally adjusted the matter. 

It is not the purpose of this paper to go into details of just 
how the matter was finally arranged, but many of the Connec- 
ticut settlers remained, and their descendants to-day are 
found not only in the Wyoming Valley, but in the entire 
section eastward to the Delaware. The ill-feeling between 
the settlers gradually disappeared and peace reigned in the 
region which for more than a quarter of a century Avas the 
scene of skirmishes and bloodshed. 



